Taye Diggs: The sequel was worth the wait

Nov. 13, 2013

Updated 3:38 p.m.

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Taye Diggs returns in the role of Harper, which he first played in the 1999 comedy "The Best Man." Years later, a group of college friends reunite for Christmas in "The Best Man Holiday." UNIVERSAL PICTURES

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Taye Diggs appears as Harper and Sanaa Lathan is his wife Robyn in a scene from "The Best Man Holiday." MICHAEL GIBSON, UNIVERSAL PICTURES

Taye Diggs returns in the role of Harper, which he first played in the 1999 comedy "The Best Man." Years later, a group of college friends reunite for Christmas in "The Best Man Holiday." UNIVERSAL PICTURES

Taye Diggs always thought it might be nice to one day re-visit the character he played in the 1999 film “The Best Man.”

It’s good he didn’t hold his breath.

It took writer/director Malcolm D. Lee 14 years to bring the characters back to life in the sequel “The Best Man Holiday,” which opens this week. But Diggs says it was worth the wait.

Once again, Diggs plays Harper, a writer who proposed to his girlfriend Robyn (Sanaa Lathan) at the end of the first film. She is now pregnant with their first child, and they hesitate when all of their closest college friends are invited to a weekend reunion at the home of Lance (Morris Chestnut) and Mia (Monica Calhoun). Lance, a college football star in the first film, is now on the verge of breaking the all-time rushing record in the National Football League, but he still can’t forgive the best man at his wedding (Harper) for a sexual dalliance with his future wife. All of the friends have lived a full life since their college days, and two of them are harboring a life-altering secret.

The character Harper isn’t the only one who has matured in the last 14 years. Diggs, 42, is now married (to Broadway actress Idina Menzel) with a young son. He has written a children’s book called “Chocolate Me!” and last year wrapped a six-year stint as Dr. Sam Bennett on the TV series “Private Practice.”

Q.What was your job at Disneyland?

A.(Laughs). Wow, you really did your research. It was at Tokyo Disneyland, and I was the emcee at a show called Sebastian’s Caribbean Jamboree. It was named after Sebastian, the little crab from “The Little Mermaid,” and it was a lot of singing and dancing.

Q. Were you speaking in English?

A. Some in English, and a little in Japanese. We learned just enough Japanese to welcome the guests and introduce ourselves.

Q.And where were you in your acting career when you took this day job?

A.I had just done “Carousel” on Broadway, which was my first job out of college (Syracuse University), so Sebastian was my second real paying job before I got “Rent” on Broadway.

Q. Were you thankful to get the job?

A.I was, but my agents thought I was crazy. I had just been on Broadway, and they wanted to get me something from that. To them, I was disappearing for a year. To me, it was a chance to travel. I was confident enough that I could come back and pick up where I left off.

Q.For a struggling actor, it certainly beat waiting on tables?

A.It was an awesome experience. It lasted almost a year, and we were very well taken care of. It was my first foray into experiencing another culture.

Q.You probably are an expert at ordering sushi from that experience?

A.I wasn’t into sushi then.

Q. I didn’t realize that this story had a sad ending.

A.It’s true. I’m into sushi now, but I didn’t appreciate it when I was there. My taste buds just weren’t that sophisticated.

Q.Where was your movie career when you made “The Best Man” in 1999?

A.I was at the beginning of my film career. But it was a time when movies like “The Best Man” were not being made, so there was this confluence of events. I was very lucky to get “How Stella Got Her Groove Back,” but that was Angela Bassett’s movie. “The Best Man” was my first shot at a leading role. I’m not saying it was my movie, but I was one of the leading characters in an important movie that showed African-Americans in multi-dimensional roles. I was proud to be part of something like that. And then to have the movie do well, and be well-received, made it very special to me. It made a mark in Hollywood as to how black films were perceived.

Q.Has the situation improved in the ensuing 14 years?

A. It has improved. I don’t want to be a downer, but we still have a ways to go.

Q.Some people have pointed to this year – with “Fruitvale Station,” “12 Years a Slave,” “Lee Daniels’ The Butler” and your film – as proof that things have gotten better?

A.The fact that you can point them out suggests that we’re not there yet. At the same time, I’m celebrating. It’s been a great year.

Q.Will it take more successful black films to really change the way Hollywood thinks?

A.It’s a combination of things. I don’t want to make this about race, but it’s not just more successful movies, but more chances to make successful movies. A certain white actor will get repeated chances to play the lead in a movie. Three of those movies will fail, but he’ll get a fourth chance just because the industry thinks this guy has something. But black actors and black movies don’t have that luxury. People will say that there is enough money being put into black movies, but if you look at the amount of money put into white movies of a certain genre, it’s not close to being equal.

Q. At any time during the 14-year stretch between “The Best Man” and “The Best Man Holiday,” did you believe that there would be a sequel?

A. Not until we got together for a dinner in 2011 and Malcolm pitched us the entire film. He asked for our support. He said there wouldn’t be much money in it, so he needed us not to compete for who had the biggest trailer (laughs).

Q. What was your initial reaction to his proposal?

A.My initial reaction was “We’ll see if this happens.” It’s really hard to get a movie made, and we had this large cast of actors who were doing well on their own. As a person, I always come from a perspective of “Let’s see what happens.” I didn’t want to get too excited.

Q.And my wife says I’m too negative.

A.(Laughs) I am cautiously optimistic. I hate getting my hopes up, and then have those hopes dashed on the rocks.

Q.That’s exactly why I’m pessimistic.

A.I was excited, but I’ll see you on the first day of filming.

Q.OK, now it’s the first day of filming. How are you different as an actor from where you were on the first film, besides being 14 years older?

A. Hmmm. That’s tough. As an actor, I was naïve when I first started out. I’ve been to a few rodeos in those 14 years. You could teach classes on how differently you approach other actors, and how you approach other actresses. There is a realization as one of the leading actors in a studio film that you have certain responsibilities to yourself and to the other members of the cast. You have responsibilities to the writer, to the director and to the studio. You come in with more knowledge on how the business is run.

Q.And more confident?

A.I was pretty confident the first time around. I had that gift of believing in myself, which you need in this business. You have to believe you can carry a film, or you’ll fall flat on your face. I guess I was a little more cautious this time around because there’s a little more on the line. There’s more to lose.

Q.Did the rest of the cast feel the same way?

A.We got together and discussed the pressure that was on us, and that we needed to stick together.

Q.It’s a shame that you feel that kind of pressure.

A.It didn’t take away from the fun we were having. We were just being aware.

Q.Had you interacted with the rest of the cast during the ensuing 14 years?

A.We have seen each other, but most of us have not worked together since the first film. It was nice to get to know each other again, to see how we’ve grown, and to share pictures of the kids. It was a trip. It was great to see how we’ve all matured as actors.

Q. Did you sense that in the middle of shooting a scene?

A. It was nice to see that we’ve all still got it.

Q.At the end of a long day of filming, was there any discussion or amazement that you’re all still around?

A.There was talk like that right on the set. There was a real sense of we’re still doing it.

Q.Way back when you were starting out in “Carousel,” could you have imagined that you’d still be working as an actor?

A.Absolutely. I was very confident. I sometimes long for that “ignorance is bliss” type of confidence. When I was young, you couldn’t tell me anything. I had every intention of being successful.

Q.Where did that confidence come from?

A.I don’t know. Maybe my parents? Or my teachers? I had a logical take on the business. I understood my skill set, and understood where to apply it.

Q.What was your skill set?

A.I was a decent-looking black guy who could sing and dance, so I figured I’d start in New York. A lot of people started in Los Angeles, and there were no musicals there so they were out of work. I figured I had a better chance of working in an ensemble in New York. That was a time when there were a couple of black people in every ensemble. There was always a black person in every TV ensemble as well, so I know that as a black male with some talent, I knew I could fit in somewhere.

Q.You have six seasons on the TV series “Private Practice.” How are you perceived by the public when you’re in a series as opposed to being in movies?

A.You’re in everyone’s living rooms so there is more recognition. There’s also a broader range of people who know you. More people saw that series than ever saw “The Best Man.”

Q.Would you ever consider another series?

A.I start filming a new series in February for TNT. I play a detective on a Steven Bochco project called “Murder in the First.”

Q.So, obviously the television experience wasn’t bad enough to keep you away?

A. Oh no. I love TV. I have a little boy now, and I want to be close to my family. I haven’t slowed down much, but staying in hotels for long periods of time doesn’t have the same appeal for me as it did when I was younger.

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